Dr. Lalima Mukherjee is a Professor of Economics at the University of Engineering & Management. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Master’s Degree in Economics, and Ph.D. in the field of Economics of Gender and Population Studies. She is a governing council member at ICCE Institute of Certified Chartered Economists. She was a lecturer at NSHM Business School, Assistant Professor at NSHM College of Management & Technology, and Amity University, Kolkata. She has been invited as a Resource Person in INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AFTER COVID-19 CRISIS Hosted by Institute of Management Science, Pimpri Bk, Pune In Association with Foundation for Education and Life Skills on 24th May 2020. Authored a second book for CA foundation Economics for Finance with Prof. Sampat Mukherjee and Vipul Bhatt which was published in October 2020.

UEM Kolkata

What are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

“To maintain punctuality while imparting lessons and instructions to students”

Being from the Department of Business Administration, University of Engineering & Management, Kolkata, I engage in classes regularly and maintain punctuality while imparting lessons and instructions to my students. Along with this I conduct an internal assessment as well as evaluate the examination. For a better understanding of the subject, a methodology was developed to educate students about the topic (problem understanding and solving, etc.) and then implement it in the classroom. The Flipped classroom technique also helps frequently. In addition, I prepare and execute Lesson Plans so that the students have a complete learning and proper understanding of the subject. 

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and faculty?

“Teamwork, Communication, and Collaboration are the key for healthy relations”

My association with the education sector for the last 21 years helped me to believe that teamwork has no alternative. In the Department of Business Administration, all the faculty members and staff work relentlessly towards providing quality education to the students. We have also implemented the New Examination Policy of AICTE by incorporating the COs and POs for respective syllabi and programs conducted. It helps in carrying out the examination process for the students smoothly. Apart from this, communication and collaboration within the faculty members play a key role along with the setting of strategic goals based on a strong action plan. 

How do you strategize and update the curriculum for the student’s benefit? 

“Academia and Industry Experts evaluate the syllabus and update it regularly”

Each semester our syllabus is updated to improve as per the decision taken in the Board of Studies meeting where respective subject teachers’ comments are incorporated so that the students can understand the requirements of the outside world. The syllabus is evaluated by both academia and industry experts to make it more practice-oriented based on the requirements of the corporate world. After this process, the syllabus is finalized. So, the syllabus goes through the process of continuous evaluation.

How does your department prepare students for Placement?

“Providing students with 100% Placement Assistance”

In our University, we have a dedicated Training and Development process which is carried out by our Placement Cell. The students are trained to face the rigorous placement process in terms of cracking the GD and PI sessions conducted by the faculties and the industry experts. They are groomed by these sessions in such a way that they get industry-ready and become tuned to the corporate requirements in terms of team building and peer collaboration.

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How do you help your student to cope up with the competition?

“Providing Students with demanding skills and organizing various training”

Students need new skills set for the VUCA world that will make them industry-ready to collaborate with others at a global level. They need to know how to find accurate information and learn to use critical analysis for assessing the authenticity of the current or potential uses of new information. In today’s world, students need to engage in open discussions so that they can feel comfortable communicating with people of other cultures. Moreover, students are taught to use some qualities required for selection when any kind of decision-making is required.

What are the challenges you are facing to uplift the quality of education of your department? 

“Providing students with the English Communication Skills in the best manner”

There are several challenges as far as quality education is concerned. One of the most important challenges is communication with the students. Due to English as a mandatory medium of instruction, few students face difficulty in the subjects taught as many a time, they prefer their mother tongue for a clear understanding of the subject matter. It has been observed that English communication is not up to the mark which is a prerequisite for higher education to be at the Global platform. In the modern world, it is a mandatory requirement to be technologically savvy both in terms of the faculty as well as the students, and the incapability may act as a hindrance towards the quality of education as well as relevance in the world.

How does the University enhance the skills of the faculty?

“Universities prepare faculty members according to the industry standards”

At the University of Engineering & Management, Kolkata (UEMK), the faculties are fortunate enough to get the facility of doing courses from Coursera and Harvard Business School free of cost for enhancing their teaching outcomes. Apart from that, a lot of FDP s are arranged by in-house faculty experts on various modern topics to keep the faculty and staff updated with current trends in academia and industry.

What are the interventions you bring in apart from the curriculum to train the students?

“Tri-mentoring with Academia, Industry, and Alumni train students in the best way”

We follow the process of Tri-mentoring with academia, industry, and alumni to help develop a thrust in the holistic teaching-learning pedagogy. Then there are MOOCS courses related to many areas of interest of the students outside their curriculum. UEMK also enforces sports events as well as cultural events for the overall intellectual development of the students. Debates, quiz competitions, Van Mahotsav are celebrated each year where students along with faculty are involved in planting trees.

What do you see as the department’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

“Department is based on research and development”

The strength of my Department is case study-based teaching with a focus on research and development. We also support entrepreneurial activities through Wadhwani Foundation. We have placements of students with global companies and also focus on global linkages. The greatest strengths are highly qualified faculty members with strong industry and research experience who focus on organizing international and national conferences, seminars, workshops and colloquiums every year. Along with this the department is engaged in research and development as well as consulting which helps in the holistic development of the students and makes them ready to be industry experts. More foreign collaborations along with sharp communication skills along with proper grooming of students as well as faculty may strengthen the department further.

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What advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead? 

“Students should enhance their skills by different MOOCs Courses from online platforms”

The first piece of advice to prospective students would be to be serious enough and focused in whatever course they pursue. A student needs to be an aggressive learner and should have the capability to grasp the basic concepts. The learning technique adopted is application orientated which involves e-assignments to students in the virtual classroom as well as e-live projects to supplement the courses taught. Coursera, Udemy, NPTEL and Edx learning platforms among other MOOCs courses need to be used extensively as it helps in the holistic development of the students.